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Office: Powder River County – 119 North Park Avenue, Broadus, MT 59317; confirm current DES contact via prco.mt.gov.
Sheriff: Powder River County Sheriff’s Office – PO Box 200, 1 Courthouse Square, Broadus, MT 59317 | (406) 436-2333 | Fax: (406) 436-2866 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Devin Boman, Undersheriff Russ Kinzer. Detention Center visiting hours Mon/Wed/Fri 5-7 PM when an officer is available; fingerprinting by appointment Tue/Sat 10 AM-12 PM.
EMS: Powder River County EMS – PO Box 200, Broadus, MT 59317 | (406) 436-2346; Director Adam Johnson; provides access to fixed-wing and rotor-wing MEDEVAC.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-212 (part of the “Warrior Trail”) serves Broadus, the county seat, in the extreme southeastern corner of Montana.
Notes: Powder River County, created from part of Custer County in 1919, is named for the Powder River, itself named for gunpowder-colored sand along its banks – locally described as “a mile wide and an inch deep, too thin to plow and too thick to drink.” Fewer than 2,000 residents; Broadus and Biddle are the county’s only two incorporated towns.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Powder River County – confirm current phone via prco.mt.gov.
Notes: Powder River County is genuinely home to Reynolds Battlefield, roughly 28-35 miles southwest of Broadus, site of the March 1876 Battle of Powder River – a disastrous U.S. Army attack on a Northern Cheyenne village (mistaken for Sioux) that served as a direct forerunner to that summer’s Battle of the Little Bighorn; Colonel Joseph Reynolds was later court-martialed for abandoning two dead soldiers on the battlefield. This stretch of US-212 has been dubbed “The Warrior Trail.” The Powder River Historical Museum in Broadus, assembled from local historic buildings, displays a general store, the original county jail, a frontier cabin, a schoolhouse, antique cars, Native American artifacts, and cavalry relics from the Powder River battle.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Powder River County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via prco.mt.gov.
Federal: VA Montana Health Care System (Fort Harrison/Helena, accessible west).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Henry A. Malley Memorial Library – 101 S Lincoln Ave, Broadus, MT 59317; confirm current phone/hours via townofbroadus.com.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Powder River Historical Museum, Reynolds Battlefield, Cottonwood Park (home to the annual “Let ‘Er Buck” Rodeo, one of the region’s best), and Rolling Hills Golf Course (9 holes) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine 1876 Battle of Powder River, a direct forerunner to the Battle of the Little Bighorn, is one of the most historically significant local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Powder River County – confirm current contact via prco.mt.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current animal control arrangements via prco.mt.gov or the Sheriff’s Office, (406) 436-2333; the Town of Broadus requires annual dog/cat licensing with proof of rabies vaccination.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Powder River County Burn Notification Service – free online/phone controlled-burn notification system, 1-800-207-2531; confirm general waste contact via prco.mt.gov.
NOTES: Powder River County is the fourth county in the Montana v2 A+ sourced redo’s sixth batch. The genuine 1876 Battle of Powder River, a direct forerunner to the Battle of the Little Bighorn, is one of the most historically significant local facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Powder River County County
Powder River County is southeast Montana’s open range cattle heritage and Powder River country – Sitting Bull’s “last good country” and the catastrophic 1886-87 winter that ended the open range era define a county where Broadus serves the cattle ranching families on the Wyoming border in one of Montana’s most historically evocative landscapes.
Broadus (the county seat, population ~450) is Powder River County’s governmental hub on US 212, a remote southeast Montana ranching community whose Powder River heritage, Custer National Forest access, and cattle economy anchor its identity near Wyoming.
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Powder River County Assessor at 119 W. Park Street, Broadus, MT 59317, phone 406-436-2361. MT assessed at market value.
Courts & Legal
Powder River County District Court at 119 W. Park Street, Broadus, MT 59317, phone 406-436-2361, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK AND RECORDER
119 W. Pine St., Broadus, MT 59317
(406) 436-2361
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
119 W. Pine St., Broadus, MT 59317
(406) 436-2361
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Powder River County Clerk of District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Powder River County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Powder River County Clerk of District Court, Probate Division Courthouse Square (mail: P.O. Box 200), Broadus, MT 59317 (406) 436-2320 Powder River County is in southeastern Montana, seated in Broadus.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Montana adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), codified at Title 72 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA). Probate is handled by the District Court in the county where the decedent resided.
Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit (MCA § 72-3-1101) – available when the value of the probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000. At least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative may be pending or granted anywhere. The affiant presents the sworn, notarized affidavit (with a certified death certificate) directly to whoever holds the property to collect it – skipping probate court entirely. Must be used within 3 years of death.
Summary Administration – a streamlined court process for estates valued at $100,000 or less; unlike the affidavit procedure, this still goes through the court, just with reduced formality.
Informal Probate – the most common path for uncontested estates. An application can be made to the clerk of district court no sooner than 120 hours (5 days) after death, with minimal court involvement.
Formal Probate – required when there’s no will, when a will’s validity is contested, or when there’s disagreement over the personal representative or distribution. Handled by a district court judge.
Supervised Administration – formal probate with ongoing court oversight of the personal representative.
Step 2: filing for formal or informal probate
File an application (informal) or petition (formal) with the Clerk of District Court in the county where the decedent resided, no sooner than 120 hours after death.
The court or clerk appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories and appraises the estate’s assets.
After debts, taxes, and expenses are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and closes the estate.
What it costs
Montana does not set statutory percentage-based fees; personal representative and attorney fees are generally “reasonable compensation” based on time and complexity.
Montana has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
119 W. Pine St., Broadus, MT 59317
(406) 436-2666
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
119 W. Pine St., Broadus, MT 59317
(406) 436-2361
ELECTIONS
119 W. Pine St., Broadus, MT 59317
(406) 436-2361
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Powder River Medical Services Rural Clinic – 507 N Lincoln Ave, Broadus, MT 59317 | (406) 436-2651; Public Health Nurse Darlynn Williams, (406) 436-2297.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Broadus
Population: 1,700
Area: 3,297 sq mi
Established: 1919
Public Records
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